A Great Day for Maryland

Winter Solstice.

It’s the time of year when we are all looking for more light in our lives. This is a story of finding it in a very unexpected place: inside Maryland’s election for the new Speaker of the House of Delegates.

I readily find rays of light in my relationship with nature, living an idyllic life on a farm with my wonderful spouse and the cast of animal characters we happily oversee. Friendships are precious to me, and in nurturing them I find a joy that tends the deep flame of my heart. I also find sparks of motivation and inspiration through my work at the WeAreOne Alliance, connecting with other good humans who are committed to restoring faith in our shared humanity.

But I never expected to bask in that light while standing on the floor of the House of Delegates last week.

After serving in that chamber for eight years, I walked away with mixed memories—deep reverence for the work accomplished there, alongside the bitter taste of the toxicity that politics can sometimes breed. Blech. You know the flavor.

And then, on Tuesday, December 16th, it was as if a sun flare exploded in the center of the chamber.

Her name is Joseline Peña-Melnyk. You may now call her Madam Speaker.

Her colleagues chose her unanimously.

Let me tell you about my friend.

Joseline and I were elected to the House in the same class in 2006, and we’ve been thick as thieves ever since. She is the one you always want on your side. No one works harder or smarter. Her word is her bond. She leads with integrity, fairness, and a gracious, open heart. She cares deeply about humanity—and it shows.

But the greatest lesson I received last week wasn’t simply witnessing my friend rise to Speaker. It was realizing that the sense of closeness I feel with her—the belief that our friendship is special—is a feeling shared by virtually everyone who knows her.

Joseline Peña-Melnyk is a living lesson in what good friendship looks like.

She offers it to everyone.

As I sat in the Members’ Lounge before the ceremony began, reconnecting with political friends old and new, the room buzzed with pride and joy. Former elected officials who served with Joseline on the Health and Government Operations Committee (where she and I both got our start, and which she would later chair) swapped stories. Former chairs and rank-and-file members alike spoke of her as a mentor. Small-town mayors, city and county council members, community activists, and nonprofit leaders filled the room.

We all kept saying the same thing: This is a great day for Maryland.

Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was also in attendance. Some might find that uncomfortable. Joseline understands something essential about leadership—that people are more than the worst thing they’ve ever done, and that redemption and accountability can coexist. Grace, when practiced with integrity, is not weakness. It is strength.

Predictably, a click-bait headline followed: “Maryland’s new House speaker gives shoutout to convicted Mayor Catherine Pugh in her inaugural speech.” You can imagine the reaction that kind of framing invites. But what I witnessed that day was not scandal—it was humanity. It was one more quiet example of why Joseline is so deeply respected.

What should have been the headline was the overwhelmingly bipartisan and nonpartisan celebration of her nomination.

The session opened with a prayer that included Emma Lazarus’s 1883 sonnet, “The New Colossus,” inscribed on the Statue of Liberty:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free...

We were reminded that Joseline was just eight years old when she immigrated to this country from the Dominican Republic. That was the first tear of the day for me—recognizing the long journey that led her to this moment, and feeling the profound contrast with the current anti-immigrant fervor in our national politics.

After two moving tributes—one from a district colleague she had once mentored, and another from the Chair of the Legislative Black Caucus—a conservative Republican from the Eastern Shore, Delegate Tom Hutchinson, rose to close the nominations. He spoke about working with Joseline on the committee she chairs and said:

“She often ends a conversation by saying, ‘Have a blessed day.’ Those aren’t just words. They come from her heart. She truly means it. She wants everyone to have a blessed day—and today, we are having a blessed day.”

By then, I was wiping tears with my sweater sleeve. What I was witnessing wasn’t just personal pride—it was the living proof that respectful dialogue can create real connection across differences. It was the philosophy of the WeAreOne Alliance alive on the House floor.

Other Republican colleagues echoed the same sentiment. Praise flowed freely, authentically, and without qualification.

In this era of constant political gamesmanship, it felt like oxygen.

Joseline’s acceptance speech struck exactly the right tone. She spoke of growing up with a leaky tin roof and, at times, not enough food—and how resilience forged by hardship can lead to hope and determination.

“I will fight for everyone,” she said. “I don’t care where you come from—especially those who feel unseen and unheard.”

She closed by acknowledging everyone who makes the institution function: clerks, staff, bill drafters, interns, pages, and the people who clean the building. She sees everyone. I love her so much for that.

Good news is meant to be shared.

In a time when we so rarely witness the triumph of the human spirit rewarded with positions of power, I want this moment in Maryland to reverberate far beyond our state — so that current and future members of legislative bodies across this country might be reminded what is possible.

May they seek to befriend everyone.
May they listen to all points of view.
May they lead with respect and inclusion.
May they cherish personal relationships.
May they earnestly bless one another’s walk through life.
And may they work tirelessly for the dignity and rights of the people who honor them with the chance to serve.

This is already the legacy of Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk in public life.

And she is only just beginning.